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Who are the voices of North Mara Youth?

The Voices of North Mara Youth is a group of 80 girls and boys from Ingwe and Bwirege secondary schools in Tarime District, Mara Region.

The youth are determined to resolve conflicts surrounding children and youth in the communities living around North Mara Gold Mine, under an ambitious project initiated by Search for Common Ground (SFCG) . The project is called Youth in Transformation of conflict in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining(YTCASM).

The youth have been trained on Common Ground Journalism and data collection (research) techniques to enable them take part in transforming North Mara from a conflict area to a peaceful neighbourhood.

In essence, the youth now have basic skills on how to gather information and prepare news reports that are helpful in conflict resolution through a win-win approach. The reports are used in the main stream and social media.

By so doing, the youth play a significant role in transforming North Mara community to a conflict -free community thus, becoming part of key stakeholders inspiring changes and fostering sustainable development in their own society.

The youth have formed Umoja Peace Clubs (UPC) with the support of SFCG, a non- profit international organization that has, since 2011 been striving to support conflict transformation in the villages around North Mara Gold Mine, through dialogue.

Why Voices of North Mara Youth?

SFCG believes that conflicts can be resolved by using local resources and communities that have a better understanding of what is happening around them. This inspired SFCG to initiate the project in order to capacitate the youth on Common Ground Journalism and research techniques, with a strong conviction that children and youth are also affected by conflicts emerging in their communities. They have remarkable experience, understanding and know-how in dealing with conflict situations in their own environment.